Seattle Parks and Recreation news and events

Belltown Community Center, Seattle Parks and Recreation’s newest community center, will offer My First Movie on Saturday, January 26, from 10 – 11:30 a.m. Belltown Community Center is located at 415 Bell Street, at the corner of 5th Avenue and Bell Street.

The free showing of “Winnie the Pooh” will take place in a movie-like setting and is the perfect opportunity to introduce young children to their first movie-going experience – without the expense or worrying who they might disrupt while asking questions during the show. The movie will be shown in a darkened room and projected onto a 70-inch screen. There will popcorn and other concessions available.

The 2011 version of this “Winnie the Pooh” movie is appropriate for children around 3 years old and older, according to Common Sense Media.

Come early and visit the center’s Tot Town Playroom, which is best for children ages 18 months to 4 years old. The playroom is open Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 3 – 8 p.m.

The Imagination Playground will also be open, and is best for children ages 3 to 7. Regular hours for the Imagination Playground are Wednesdays 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., Fridays from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Each playroom is $2 per child.

For more information, contact Belltown Community Center at 206-684-4093, visit their webpage or like them on Facebook.

Seattle Parks and Recreation invites property owners, business owners and Belltown neighbors to learn about progress on the Bell Street Park project. Join us at a public meeting on Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 6 p.m. at the Belltown Community Center, 415 Bell St.

Bell Street Park will be a unique park for Seattle, providing much needed community open space for the high density Belltown neighborhood. Seattle Parks and the Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS) completed the final documentation and advertised for construction bids on January 4, 2013. Bids will be opened on January 23, 2013. The project will be divided into phases with each block being constructed individually to minimize disruption to local residents and business.

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy project provides the funding to convert one traffic lane and reconfigures parking to create a park-like corridor through the heart of Belltown on Bell Street.

The project was first envisioned in the 1998 Belltown/Denny Triangle Neighborhood Plan with leadership from the Belltown Housing and Land Use Committee. Subsequently, the Belltown Community Council, Belltown Business Association and other community groups requested that the City develop the project as a response to inadequate open space facilities in the neighborhood and the difficulty in purchasing property for such uses.

For more information please contact Patrick Donohue, Project Manager at 206-684-9286 or patrick.donohue@seattle.gov or visit http://seattle.gov/parks/projects/bell_street/boulevard_park.htm.

If you need interpretation services at the meeting, please contact Karen O’Connor at 233-7929 or Karen.o’connor@seattle.gov.

Playground in a Box is sort of Legos meets Lincoln Logs in giant blue foam. Now, put those pieces inside a brand new urban community center where it’s always warm and dry – no matter what the weather. And, voila! You have the concept for imaginative, physical, indoor play.

Playground in a Box is comprised of large foam blocks that are oddly formed with unique, abstract shapes that make kids curious and want to start building immediately. With their uniform blue color, abstract shapes, and infinite configurations, these blocks from Imagination Playground get kids’ minds working fast and keep them active. Instead of prescribing activities (climb this, sit on that), the blocks prompt kids to “fill in the blank” with their own ideas.

The blocks can be used to make anything kids can think of, and encourages socializing and cooperation. Younger, smaller kids may need help balancing and moving them, so they work in pairs or small teams. Older, larger kids quickly realize that if they want to build structures that are bigger than life, they need to plan and work together with other children.

Seattle Parks and Recreation, The Downtown Seattle Association and the Seattle Parks Foundation have partnered to bring this indoor playground to Belltown Community Center, 415 Bell St.

Children and their caregivers are invited to play on Wednesdays from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. and Fridays from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Entrance to the playground is free. Playground in a Box is appropriate for children at least 2 years old and older. For the very little ones, Belltown Community Center also has an indoor play room that is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. and Wednesdays and Fridays from 3:30 – 7:30 p.m. The drop-in fee is $2.

Playground in a Box can be used indoors and outdoors, and is waterproof. It will be housed at Belltown Community Center, but will be loaned out for special events at Westlake Park, Waterfront Park, and Bell Street Park when it is finished.

For more information, contact Belltown Community Center at 206-684-4093.

Seattle Parks and Recreation is working on two projects for the Belltown community that will have a significant impact on the neighborhood: Bell Street Park and Belltown Community Center. Parks staff will provide project updates at the “Best of Belltown” event on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 from 6 – 9 p.m. at the Crocodile Café, at 2200 2nd Ave.

The Bell Street Park will transform Bell Street from 5th Avenue to 1st Avenue into a 17,000-square-foot linear street park. This project is funded by the Parks and Green Spaces Levy and will feature enhanced landscaping, state-of-the-art stormwater management and pedestrian and bike friendly curbless construction. Parks is currently working to get Seattle Department of Transportation Street Improvement permit approval.

The new community center funded by the Community Center Levy will fulfill a commitment from the city to provide an important gathering and learning facility for the Belltown neighborhood. The intent of this project consists of leasing a 6,000-square-foot space and partnering with an independent operator for community programming. Parks is currently in the design phase and lease negotiations.

The “Best of Belltown” event, sponsored by the Belltown Business Association, highlights positive news and happenings in Belltown. The park update will include a construction schedule, and community center target opening date.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Belltown Community Council will host the second of three public meetings for the Bell Street Park Boulevard on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 from 7 – 9 p.m. at Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park in the PACCAR Pavilion located at 2901 Western Ave. Bell Street Park Boulevard will be a unique park for Seattle, and community input on the design is essential.

The SVR + Hewitt design team created two different park concepts that reflect the input received from the first public meeting held in November. The design team and Parks staff will present these design concepts, answer questions and ask for additional community input.

The project was first envisioned in the 1998 Belltown/Denny Triangle Neighborhood Plan with leadership from the Belltown Housing and Land Use Committee. Subsequently, the Belltown Community Council, Belltown Business Association and other community groups requested that the City develop the project as a response to inadequate open space facilities in the neighborhood and the difficulty in purchasing property for such uses.

The Parks and Green Spaces Levy project provides $2.5 million to convert one traffic lane and reconfigures parking to create a park-like corridor through the heart of Belltown on Bell Street.

Seattle voters passed the Parks and Green Spaces Levy by an impressive 59% vote in November 2008. The new $146 million Levy provides acquisition funding for new neighborhood parks and green spaces and development funding for projects such as improved playfields, reservoir lid parks, renovated playgrounds, community gardens, and safety upgrades at City owned cultural facilities. Recognizing the importance of creating vibrant and engaging green spaces for Seattle as it grows, Seattle Parks and Recreation moved quickly into action and by November 2009, just one year after the passage of the Levy, we have added 2.53 acres to the park system; brought eight new development Levy projects to completion; and have four projects in construction. Another 21 projects are in the planning and design phase.

For more information please contact Patrick Donohue, Project Manager at 206-684-9286 or patrick.donohue@seattle.gov or visit http://seattle.gov/parks/projects/bell_street/boulevard_park.htm.

For those in need of interpretation services at the meeting, please contact Karen O’Connor at 206-233-7929 or Karen.o’connor@seattle.gov.